A BALLINGRY man is preparing to saddle up for an epic 152-mile Highland fling this weekend – all in aid of charity.

Stuart Dalgarno, of Ballingry Crescent, is teaming-up with pal, Mark Soutar, to pedal all the way to Forres, 25 miles east of Inverness, on Saturday to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

It will be the fifth event in as many years that the 41-year-old, whose parents live in the Morayshire town, has taken on to support a variety of cancer charities after family – including his father, brother-in-law and father-in-law – and friends have been touched by the disease.

Stuart, who will begin his mammoth cycle with Mark, 44, at 5am, has raised money for Prostate Cancer UK, The Brain Tumour Charity, Marie Curie and the Team Jak charity, which was created at the request of teenager Jak Trueman following his own battle with childhood cancer.

"This is the fifth year I've done a charity event, and it has always been a cancer charity," he explained.

"Now my father-in-law is suffering from lung cancer so we thought that one of the big charities was one to go for. Macmillan has supported him and I can see the work that they do.

"Thanks to Mark's dad, Sandy, our fundraising total is now at £1,200 thanks to his collection at Kinglassie Bowling Club on Saturday night!

"I've done a charity cycle, normally as part of an organised event, in the past 3-4 years and Mark has done a lot as well.

"I'm confident we'll do it."

Stuart, who says he's never cycled more than 100 miles in a day before, reckons that a journey that would take around three hours by road should take between 12-13 hours in total, with the pair aiming to arrive in Forres by 7pm.

They will take in a route that includes cycling on rural roads, and on National Cycle Route 7, through the likes of Glenfarg, Perth, Pitlochry and Aviemore, and Stuart continued: "We're planning to start at 5am; we want to get off at first light.

"Although I know we will do it, the earlier we get away, the more time we'll have in case something goes wrong. I'd like to think we'll be around 11-12 hours moving, and 12-13 hours including stops.

"My folks live in Forres, which is the reason why I've chosen there, and I've always driven up the A9 and seen the cycle path running alongside it. It'll be nice to take in a bit more of the scenery at a quarter of the speed!"

If you would like to support Stuart in raising money for Macmillan, you can donate by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stuart-dalgarno2.